The bout served as the headlining contest of Saturday’s UFC 133 event, which took place at Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center and aired on pay-per-view.

With electricity in the air, the two boxed in the pocket early. Early on, Evans showed the speed advantage he was expected to hold, moving in and out and getting the best of the exchanges. Two minutes in, Ortiz shot in and successfully drug Evans to the floor. Evans worked back to his feet in 60 seconds time, and the two went back to work on the feet.

With Ortiz working against the cage, Evans fired off a flurry of punches that seemed to stun his foe. Ortiz did a good job of slowing down the pace and even answered with a nice knee. However, Evans moved in with a powerful slamming takedown and a flurry of punches from the top. Ortiz survived the initial flurry, and Evans shifted to side control. A few more punches landed from the top, but Ortiz survived until the second.

Evans looked the livelier fighter to open the second, but he didn’t jump on the gas to open. One minute in, Ortiz timed an Evans shot and locked in a guillotine as he fell to his back. For a brief moment, it looked like the improbable might happen again. Instead, Evans pulled out of the choke and worked into side control. With Ortiz tired and near the fence, Evans worked his left hand free and landed several crisp shots to the head. Evans continued to look for better options and briefly earned a crucifix as he continued to rain down punishment.

Ortiz rolled to his knees, and he wowed the crowd by looking to roll for a leglock, but Evans was just too much in the position. Evans stood up and began to blast away with punches. Ortiz remained kneeling to avoid any knee strikes to the head, but Evans instead blasted one to the solar plexus that saw his foe crumple. A few punches for good measure sealed the deal.

With the win, Evans (16-1-1 MMA, 11-1-1 UFC) has now earned three-straight wins and now awaits the winner of Jon Jones vs. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson for a shot at regaining the light heavyweight belt.

Ortiz (16-9-1 MMA, 15-9-1 UFC), who took the fight after Jones and Phil Davis were forced to turn down the bout, falls to just 1-5-1 in his past seven fights. However, after upsetting Ryan Bader earlier this month and stepping in on short notice, the 36-year-old is suddenly relevant again.

Belfort makes quick work of Akiyama

In a co-feature that saw striker face grappler, Vitor Belfort showed Yoshihiro Akiyama what can happen when a judoka fails to grab hold of his foe.

Akiyama took the center early and pawed a few jabs as Belfort started the offense by flashing a few high kicks. Once the distance was measured, Belfort unleashed.

Akiyama never even attempted an earnest takedown attempt before a straight left to the temple sent him crashing to the canvas. Belfort pounced with his trademark rapid-fire hands, and Akiyama was out cold before the Brazilian was pulled off to celebrate his win less than two minutes before the fight began.

“I feel great,” Belfort said after the win. “God gave me the strength to move forward, and I thank Him for that. I have the courage it takes to be one of the best. I feel strong, fit, powerful and fast.”

With the win, Belfort (20-9 MMA, 9-4 UFC) rebounds from a disappointing loss to UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and is now 6-1 in his past seven fights. Akiyama (13-4 MMA, 1-3 UFC) has now dropped three-straight fights in the octagon, and is now in serious danger of having his sexiness shipped out of the promotion.

Ebersole survives early onslaught, stops Hallman in first

In a matchup featuring two of the UFC’s most experienced (and most colorful) fighters, Brian Ebersole survived an early scare to impressively dispatch of Dennis Hallman.

Sporting a pair of the smallest trunks ever to grace (disgrace?) the octagon, Hallman rushed forward and moved immediately to the back of his opponent, “Hair-ow” and all. Ebersole instinctively grabbed the fence for a moment but quickly let go, and Hallman worked in both hooks and went to work on a rear-naked choke.

Ebersole did a great job of defending the hands, but he found himself in a guillotine choke moments later. Still, “Bad Boy” powered through the submission and started to pound away from top position over the closing 90 seconds. Hallman tried to buck and roll, but Ebersole’s strikes were brutal and earned a just stoppage with 32 seconds left in the round.

“The feeling is bitter sweet,” Ebersole said of the result. “The fight didn’t start the way I wanted it to start. I thought I would have had to wear him down much more, but luckily for me he had an open guard, which let me get in there.

“I’m ecstatic about my two-straight victories. I want to fight the veterans now, the ones that I came up watching.”

After waiting 11 years as a professional to debut in the octagon, Ebersole (48-14-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) has now won two-straight UFC fights and owns eight-consecutive wins, overall. Meanwhile, Hallman (50-14-2 MMA, 3-4 UFC) sees a two-fight win streak snapped.

Philippou edges out Rivera

After failing to even make it into the house during a brief stint on “The Ultimate Fighter 11,” Constantinos Philippou made the most of his first main-card UFC fight by earning a hard-fought split-decision win over Jorge Rivera.

After a brief kickboxing exchange in the opening round, Philippou moved quickly into the clinch, where he took the fight to the floor with a well-timed trip. Rivera worked back to his feet after taking minimal damage on the floor, but Philippou immediately worked back inside. This time, Rivera was ready and spun off the cage before separating. Rivera followed with a crisp right hand, but Philippou proved game by answering right back to end a tight opening frame.

In the second, Philippou tagged his opponent early, and Rivera hit the deck. Philippou swarmed with almost 30 punches, but Rivera covered up and responded each time referee Mario Yamasaki asked him to move. Then Rivera swept to the top and earned a few of his own ground-and-pound blows. It didn’t have quite the intensity of Philippou’s attack, but it did turn the tide as the two returned to the feet. Once there, the wear of the early flurry was evident, and both looked fatigued.

An ensuing scramble saw Philippou lock in a beautiful omo plata, but he relaxed on his back rather than sit up to finish the hold. The hesitation allowed Rivera to survive until the third, but Philippou remained in control of the action.

Needing a finish in the third, Rivera came out swinging. A few shots scored to open, but Philippou took the fight to the floor again. Rivera threatened with a triangle choke but couldn’t finish. Back on the feet, both fighters looked utterly exhausted. Rivera tries desperately to create a finishing opportunity, but Philippou continued to grind away. A brief firefight in the closing seconds brought some action, but it appeared Philippou had done enough to notch the upset. He did, but just barely, netting a split-decision result.

“I am very happy with winning my first UFC fight, but it wasn’t the way I wanted to win it,” Philippou said. “I wanted to show off my boxing skills, and instead I was wrestling and using my jiu-jitsu skills. But I will learn from my mistakes and come back stronger and fitter.”

With the win, Philippou (8-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) rebounds from a UFC 128 loss to Nick Catone. Rivera, who was originally expected to face Alessio Sakara (19-9 MMA, 7-6), has now dropped two-consecutive fights.

Pyle earned an early takedown, but MacDonald worked quickly back to his feet. A stiff punch moments later caught Pyle’s attention, and he nearly found himself in a guillotine choke when he telegraphed a shot from distance. Pyle slipped free, but MacDonald delivered kicks from the feet before pushing back down again into Pyle’s guard.

Once on the ground, a few stiff punches rocked Pyle, and MacDonald made good on the opportunity with a flurry of punches and elbows that forced the stoppage at the 3:54 mark.

“I went in really confident, and I have a lot more to show,” MacDonald said after the positive result. “I’m constantly improving and stepping up the ladder, which is what I want to be doing.

“Everything went my way tonight. I wanted a clear shot, and I knew from looking in his eyes that the fight was over.”

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UFC champion Ronda Rousey did it again when she smashed Bethe Correia in 34 seconds at UFC 190. But after her third straight opponent tries and fails to make it out of the first minute, the world’s best female fighter needs a better dance partner.